Morning Glory
by Soobin
Summary: [post Try] Having survived the battle against Dark Star, Filia has to deal with the aftermath, herself and a certain Mazoku.
1. Ignorance is Bliss

**Title:** Morning Glory

**Summary: **(post Try) Having survived the battle against Dark Star, Filia has to deal with the aftermath, herself and a certain Mazoku…

**Rating:** PG-13 (for now)

**Pairings:** intended X/F; hints of L/G and Z/A

**Warning:** OOC, slight AU (because I haven't seen the end of TRY yet), a lot of musing and contemplating from Filia's POV; Xelloss-ness, of course! ;))

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Slayers or any involved character. I'm also not earning money with this fan fiction; I wrote it for my own personal amusement.

**AN: **I've only written this fan fiction down to get a better grip on the characters in Slayers; it has no plot and no really chapter structure after all. But the idea wouldn't leave my mind and besides that, I felt slightly encouraged by all the kind reviews I got for my first story. If someone would like to beta-read this fan fiction, you'd be my hero for… uhm… one day or so.

English's not my native language and I'm sorry for every trouble and misunderstanding my horrible grammar and incomplete vocabulary may cause.

Constructive criticism is highly appreciated, because I intend to re-write this story and correct the mistakes everybody points out. ;))

**Music:** The Decemberists – The Engine Driver; The Dead 60's – Train to nowhere

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Morning Glory

_**Chapter One – Ignorance is bliss**_

* * *

At the time Filia returned to her newly-acquired room, she was kind of desperate. Just… kind of. 

She had always thought of herself as an honest person. In her childhood, she had always voiced her opinion, only with one restriction: as long as it didn't hurt someone's feelings. She knew that sometimes her temper had gotten the best of her, but instantly after the words left her tongue and she had to see and recognize the hurt in the other's features and eyes, she had regretted it badly. After she had been send to the Karyu-ou's temple to receive her training, she had gotten to know another restriction: only voice your opinion as long as it fits the elder's. As long as it fits his view on the world's system, on her purpose in life, on her behaviour. As long as it fits the rules of the temple. As long as it fits _everything_.

Unwilling and involuntarily, she had learned to adjust her view to the elder's one. And after some time had passed, she did it automatically. When she repeated the sayings she was taught in her training, she didn't see it as a lie, even if she doubted some parts at first. She did make the mistake to question a few of the theories and morals in front of her elder once or twice. The punishment that had followed had been… _unpleasant_, to say the least.

And she really didn't want to think about it.

But even then, when she knew somewhere very deep in the back of her mind that she deserved no punishment, that she had done nothing wrong, she regretted and felt sorry. A younger Filia would have sat on the bed in her room in the Karyu-ou's temple, grabbing and touching her head with her hands, not stopping her quiet murmur: "Why..? I don't have a reason to feel that way…" But now she forced herself to think of the positive fact attached to her reaction.

Wasn't that what made her a person with feelings? A caring person? Her conscience?

Groaning and feeling only slightly frustrated, she flopped down on the bed. She didn't know. But there was one thing she did know for sure. Her conscience certainly was a reason why she had not been able to bring herself to refuse Amelia's offer to stay in Seyruun, if only for a few days. _Or it must have been her glittering puppy-dog-eyes.._, she muttered disapprovingly. Eyeing her room the first time since she had entered it, dragging her bags behind her, she silently added her decision to visit Seyruun in order to buy a few groceries and to stay for the night to the mental list of the things she certainly regretted in her life.

She had finished the purchasing in the first groceries shop with a good feeling. Seyruun had high demands on its farmers that were regulated in its law and only allowed food – especially vegetables and fruits – of high quality to be offered in its shops or on the market. But not only was there food of high quality, there was also a high quantity of it. She hadn't needed as much time as she'd thought to get what she searched for and to head for the next shop, but from her point of view, everything after that had gone so delicately wrong.

It wasn't like she had not received any warnings. She should have noticed the danger she was in when she wondered about the fact that only a few people were on the street anymore – when it had been pressingly full around twenty minutes earlier. She'd noticed a woman with a child at her side looking out of her window and eyeing her as if she'd just grown a third eye – or a horn if you like – before closing the shutters quickly. The second and last warning she was the lucky but ignorant receiver of was the lack of food in the shop's stands which had stood in complete contrast to what she'd seen in the first shop.

_Maybe it's noon already, and they're all taking their break from work and eating in an inn nearby…_, she mused innocently before entering the shop – only to run into an unbelievable big pile of food which was – what she found the most unbelievable in the end – all carried by two strong arms.

Filia slapped herself mentally for that thought, sighing.

She didn't have the time to react properly and staggered backwards, losing her grasp on her basket full of green and red apples, pears and some vegetables. She landed painfully on her back, watching the results of her purchasing partly getting smashed on the floor and partly rolling around. Filia felt her anger increase and quickly turned to face the one she bumped into. Her eyes traced two long legs up to somewhere between the man's waist and hips – _…and he surely is a man_, she found herself thinking and blushed furiously, _there's a direct prove on the way up to his waist that you can't miss.._ – where the pile of food began. Said pile was carefully shifted away in an attempt to get a glance at what he made contact with and muffled his reaction to the incident partly: "Oy.. sorry 'bout that.. but you have to look where you're going, miss…"

Filia's eyes instantly widened as she recognized his calm features, blue eyes and the long blond hair that covered one of his eyes in a soft swing before sliding off his shoulders to his waist, but before she could react in another way but gasping and staring at him fish-like, an angry voice was heard from behind him: "Hey, jellyfish, keep going! Why are ya blocking the way! OOOH! Cherries!" Filia's eyes risked to plop out as she recognized the now squealing voice, immediately imagining the scowl on the person's features as she growled the first sentences, before coming face-to-face with said features as the person dipped between her protector's legs to get a good grasp on some cherries.

Red eyes stared into hers for a second, then blinked.

"Yosh, Gourry, look at what we've got here!"

"I can't, Lina…", the blonde swordsman whined, "my arms are full of your food, remember…? Why can't you carry it yourself?"

The redhead shrugged easily and then shot him a glare that he couldn't misunderstand. "'Cause I'm a woman, jellyfish. I could overstretch a muscle."

Understanding that he needed to answer in the affirmative to keep things at bay, he quickly searched for words. "Uh… yeah."

The tension in Lina's features slackened, but her self-proclaimed protector wasn't done yet.

"But can ya get out of between my legs now, Lina? I don't think ya should do things like that in public, ya know?"

"NANI!"

With that, the shop, a good part of its surroundings and Filia's plan to do a nice, little shopping tour were shredded into pieces, rocks and dust by a well-placed dragon slave.

Filia sighed, then slapped herself mentally again.

* * *

She really wondered what she'd done to deserve this. 

After Gourry – slightly burned – passed out, Lina complained several minutes about the money that she'd invested in the food that was now… nowhere to be seen. After she'd relieved Filia of the little amount of food that she'd managed to save for herself, she quickly explained why they all gathered in Seyruun again.

"You might not know, but my 18th birthday is in two weeks or so. I accidentally told 'Melia-chan about it and now she has this idea about giving me a party, or a banquet or a ball, whatever ya might call it. I tried to talk her out of this, but then she mentioned LOTS of food… hee hee…ya know.. That's quite worth it." The redhead laughed nervously, bringing a hand up behind her head.

Filia sweatdropped. "That's… great, Lina-san."

"Yeah. Hey, you staying here, too?"

_I should've known better. You can't just bump into Lina Inverse and then get out of the mess unharmed…_, Filia thought, watching her plans fade away quickly.

She'd known that she couldn't just tell Lina the truth; the first restriction was quickly activated in her mind. As ruthless and violent Lina might seem to a foreigner, Filia knew that she cared a lot about her friends and that she could get hurt by sharp words. The whole situation had confused her greatly and after not being able to come up with a good excuse quick enough, she was dragged to Seyruun's palace by Lina, a newly-recovered swordsman trotting along.

* * *

Besides being always honest to others, Filia had always been honest to herself, even during her training in the temple, when she was forced to choke down her own opinions. She knew what the truth that she couldn't tell Lina outright consisted of. 

Only three weeks had gone by since the battle against Dark Star. After the battle ended, they all had been quite exhausted, deciding to retire for the night in an inn in a village a few miles away. Even Xelloss had come along with them, after disappearing for a short while shortly after the battle had been finished.

_Xelloss… _Filia squeezed her eyes shut. _Don't Filia, just.. don't remember it._

The evening was spent in harmony – what had her surprised the most – but the next few days certainly made up for it.

_I guess, we were all trying to forget what happened…_, Filia mused, directing her gaze to the ceiling.

As she woke up in the inn's room that she shared with Lina and Amelia the next morning, she knew that she had made a mistake by taking the reincarnated Valgaav with her. A glance to the desk the egg lied on and she knew it clearly. The egg and Valgaav himself after he hatched would constantly remind her of what her race had done to the Ancient Dragons. She had tried to wipe out her fault as one of the Golden by deciding to take care of him, but all it did was to rub it into her face again and again. To show her how false und untrue all of her teachings had been.

Her conscience screamed inside of her, turned her stomach upside down and made her skip breakfast and dinner. Amelia had tried to get her downstairs to drink a cup of tea at least, but she had refused. Seconds later, Lina threatened to kick the door in if she wouldn't come down this instant, but she kept her attitude.

She knew it was stupid to stay in her room, alone with Valgaav's egg. She would get paranoid if she continued that.

After a while, she'd sighed heavily, put a blanket around the egg and trotted downstairs. She was greeted by a heavily drunken Gourry who dropped his arm around her shoulders and got punched by a not slighter drunken Lina instantly.

She hadn't understood the situation at all, but somehow she had ended up sitting next to Zelgadiss with a glass of wine in one hand. She had shared a few words and glares with the chimera, about how dull this here was. About how dull it was to drown the emotional pain that everyone had received in the battle against Dark Star in alcohol. The chimera nodded to her words, but somehow it seemed ironic because he was still holding on to his glass of wine as dearly as she was. And as soon as Amelia was sitting across his lap, he really didn't care any more about how dull this was.

It tore at her pride to confess this to herself, but she'd been frustrated that Zelgadiss had focused his attention on someone other than her. Really, she wasn't that naïve. Gourry had gone off with Lina, shortly after she had got downstairs, and there was the nagging feeling inside of her that Lina had only threatened her so that the room was free for her and Gourry.

Her conclusion about the whole night wasn't really satisfying.

Lina and Gourry in her room, doing… whatever.

Amelia and Zelgadiss snuggling besides her; and she had the feeling that they would soon arrive at a new stadium of their affection to each other.

Xelloss sitting across of her.

It took her some time to realize and understand the thought her foggy mind had managed to put together.

_Yeah… why not._

She emptied her glass in one quick movement, then holding it out to Xelloss. It didn't matter to her that his indifferent smile changed into a smirk as he nodded once to her before filling her glass again, and that his smirk grew wider and quite malicious as she emptied this glass as well and demanded another filling of it. As he began to tease her by holding the bottle of wine out of her reach, she simply growled impatiently, lunging over the table at the bottle.

She knew she was drunk. And he knew it, too.

The last thing she could remember was the shattering of glass, his hands closing around her wrists, his suddenly open eyes, the table being pressed painfully into her back, his lips at her neck… and then only heat and surprisingly comfortable darkness.

When she woke up the next morning, she decided that she couldn't be a priestess to the Karyu-ou anymore.

After all that had happened in that one night, she had only needed and wanted one thing: Distance. Distance to _him_. To Lina and the others. She had become quite used to them and that was the fact that made being around them so painful. _Memories. _She had focused herself on the things at hand; first, quitting her work as a priestess as well as her membership to the temple; second, rising Val… and third… maybe finding a place where she could settle down and live.

But accomplishing that – she'd realize – wasn't easy.

* * *

The evening found Filia still lying unmoving on her bed, considering the happenings and trying to get her too intensive memories out of her mind, until her gaze landed on the antique golden clock that was ticking on the bedside table. _Musing and remembering really does take a lot of time._, she thought, sighing as she sat up. She'd promised Amelia to take dinner with her, Lina and Gourry after all, and, knowing the last two, she would have to hurry to save herself a small portion of the meal. 

She quickly brushed her hair and pinned it up at the back of her head with a hairpin, trying to ignore her reflection in the mirror, but failing. She really didn't know when she'd started to change her appearance; not overall, but from time to time she'd leave out a small detail. It had to have happened shortly after she cut nearly all of her contacts to her elders, because at first, she left out the details that gave away the fact that she was a priestess to the Karyu-ou; her robes and the head dress. She still wore her pink dress, having gotten used to it and not daring to throw it away, but she had decided to change the way she'd worn her hair and try something new from time to time. And even if she wasn't so sure if the new hairdo suited her or not, changing something in her life, even the slightest detail, felt great to her.

She growled quietly at her reflection, when she realized she'd gotten caught up in her thoughts again, then hurried down the stairs to the big dining room Amelia had shown her the way to earlier that day.

The dinner – if you could call it that anymore – was in full swing.

"Lina-san, please…" begged a slightly desperate princess tugging at the arm of the irate sorceress.

"NEVER! He's stolen my chicken! Give me my CHICKEN!"

"Nya… mrghs…" made the swordsman, turning kind of blue, as Lina continued to throttle him mercilessly, trying to pin her fork into his piece of meat.

Filia came to a sudden halt at the room's door, first surveying the situation and contemplating if she shouldn't just stop by at the kitchen and see if she could get a snack there instead of daring to be around Lina when she was hungry. But again, she wasn't quick enough and Amelia beckoned her over instantly, a huge smile plastered across her smooth features. Filia obeyed quietly, sitting down across Amelia. She forced herself to smile at the younger girl; after all, she deserved at least _something_ for her kindness and hospitality.

The princess spared Gourry and Lina only one glance more, and – after seeing that they hadn't stopped fighting yet – sighed before turning her attention back to the only Ryuzoku at the table that tried timidly to get some of the roasted potatoes that had not faced the wrath of Lina Inverse yet onto her plate.

"They've been like this the whole time since the food was brought. I mean, after all that has happened between them, you could hope that they would get quieter and learn to share with each other." Amelia commented quietly, not wanting Lina to hear her musing.

Filia just nodded and tried to look like she was too busy with eating to answer the princess properly. She had already grown fond of the raven-haired girl during their journey to prevent the prophecy of Dark Star from happening, but she wasn't in the mood for talking about the past at the moment.

But being the motivated girl she was, Amelia didn't react to Filia's lack of response outwardly. "So, what did you do in the past few hours, Filia-san? Do you like the room?"

"Uhm… of course. To give me that room was really kind of you, Amelia-san. I've been unpacking my bags and looking after… Val's egg, if that's not a problem for you. I could always stay at an inn, though..."

"But Filia-san, it would be unjust of me to leave you on the streets, while I can offer you a place here! So you've been unpacking? That's great, don't you think? In the name of all that's right and represents the true force of justice, you have to stay here for Lina-san's birthday! We would all be happy about that!" Jumping up and tossing her chair carelessly aside, Amelia posed with her index finger pointing at the dragon.

"And you said _we_ were disturbing." Lina commented dryly, having kicked the swordsman into a wall and now sitting down again to devour the food she'd managed to get before Gourry recovered.

"But I think Amelia-san's right after all, Lina-san! At least _I _would be really happy to share a party with Filia-san again!"

They all directed their gazes instantly to the Mazoku floating in the air above them, his usual happy-go-lucky smile on his face.

Amelia gasped, then waved at him: "Xelloss-san!" Lina growled. "Before you do something that'll ruin my day – and I'm sure 'bout that – let me finish eating, 'kay?"

Filia turned white and then blushed furiously as she noticed the hidden meaning behind his words. "How… how dare you! You… you NAMAGOMI!"

"Yare, yare, Fi-chan. I remember you calling me that, while you were –"

Before the Mazoku could finish his sentence, a certain iron mace collided with his head, causing him to crash down onto the table. Filia took a deep breath and smiled triumphantly at the Mazoku's now quite motionless, twitching appearance.

She might have left her robes from her old self behind, but Mace-sama would always do it.

"Uhm… do you think Xelloss-san's okay?"

"ARGH! I don't care! He just landed in my FOOD!"

_What did I thought about Mace-sama? A Dale Brand certainly does a good job as well…_

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End, Chapter One

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AN: Click the button! **


	2. Periphery

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Slayers or any involved character. I'm also not earning money with this fan fiction; I wrote it for my own personal amusement.

**AN: **Gods, it took so long to write this chapter and I suffered under some really bad kind of writer's block. Seems to be usual when it gets to continuing one of my stories.

Thanks a lot for the reviews I received; I hope I hadn't you waiting for too long!

As always: Considering that English's not my native language, constructive criticism is highly appreciated!

**Music:** James Blunt – Goodbye my Lover; The Stands – I will journey home

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Morning Glory

**_Chapter Two – Periphery_**

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The next morning brought a welcomed breeze of chilly cold air along. 

Filia blinked briefly, then huffed as she stretched out on the bed.

She'd let the window adorning the right wall of her currently occupied room open and was quite grateful for her previous decision now. It certainly helped her calm her temper that risked to flare up again as she remembered what the last day and especially evening had brought to her. She bit down on her lip to keep it in control and quickly stored the latest memories deep away in the back of her mind. That was all she'd done since the incident with Dark Star; storing away. Her mind had begun to seem like an endless system of drawers to her, every memory squeezed and pushed into one tiny drawer, too slight to contain it for long. From time to time they would manage to push their drawers open, ripping the seal of despair away she'd plastered on the worst memories and gathering in her mind to get a good kick of fun out of her helplessness to do something against it while they were having a nice little party of nostalgia in her mind.

And sometimes, a person or a thing that was connected to them would accidentally or on purpose help the memories in fleeing from their mental cage. The made connection would tug and pull endlessly against the drawers' handle until her memories got their wanted vacation.

_Like Xelloss did… like he always does…_

A bitter smile crossed Filia's face. Accidentally? Did she really just think of such a possibility? Was she still that naïve? "On purpose" certainly suited him better. She was sure there was nothing in his existence that he hadn't planned out, that wasn't well organized or directed by orders.

Her life had once been like this, but then reality had shattered it and as her life had fallen into pieces in front of her, she'd desperately tried to gather the pieces and to put it together again, the sharp edges only cutting more and more into her soul. And what had she achieved by that? Only the recognition that there were some pieces missing, that her whole trying had been futile. During all that he'd been not far away, observing her and amusing himself by her useless stumbling, gathering, mourning and trying, having noticed long ago that her way of life ended in a dead end, but not even starting to think of warning her of that. While her soul was cut and ripped apart, he'd stepped away a bit and had watched her from safe distance.

_And yesterday…_

He'd wanted to see the recognition in her eyes, had wanted to feel the cold panic and boiling rage that soon followed. Like always he'd chosen his moment of entrance and his words well, getting an excellent grip on the situation and using it as it pleased him, pushing the right buttons in her in the wake. The result was that she hadn't been able to relax for the whole rest of the evening which was understandable because Lina had completely devastated the dining room's furniture as well as the glass front that offered one a pretty view over the blooming gardens placed in the middle of the palace – as long as they had been standing, of course. Amelia had absolutely not been happy about Lina's quick changes in the palace's architecture and the sorceress' comment that she would now be able to get a delicious meal _and_ a breath of fresh air certainly didn't fall on fertile soil.

The princess had offered to have tea and some biscuits in another room and Filia had all of a sudden been overcome by the idea of a nice, hot cup of tea in front of one of the palace's fireplaces. Lina and Gourry quickly agreed and, after Amelia mentioned that she'd already ordered that the needed things were taken to one of the smaller rooms to have some privacy, raced each other down the hall way, knowing the palace well from their previous visits. Filia felt tempted to accept the offer; it sounded just too pleasant to sit down on a comfortable couch with the people she'd grown so fond of and to share some conversation with them…

Then she'd heard Xelloss utter his acceptance.

Her previous idea faded instantly and was replaced by the idea of spending the evening with Xelloss; the idea itself caused panic to wash over her once again, leaving her feeling horrified. She'd forgotten about him. How could she? He was always there, _had_ always been there; omni-present and never careless. She'd shuddered as she'd felt his gaze on her.

She quickly refused Amelia's offer and came up with some pathetic reason along with an apology. The expression in the other girl's face caused her heart to contract painfully, but she was too busy to hurry up the stairs the next moment. Once she'd gotten to her room, she'd leant against the door, panting heavily. The panic she'd felt earlier wasn't there any more, but now a well-known feeling of guilt had spread itself out.

Filia sighed as she eyed the elaborate ornaments that were carved into the wooden frame of her room's ceiling. Fine curves and circles built up a floral pattern, only slightly touching each other. It was dark wood, like mahogany, illuminated a bit by the sun light and contrasting well with the light colour of the ceiling, but the whole pattern seemed tender and fragile to her.

The whole furniture was of high-quality and noble, but not imposing, everything made out of dark wood with light coverings. Filia made a mental note to thank Amelia for this room again; it was obvious that this room wasn't usually occupied by common people. Warmth crept into her body as she thought of the kindness she'd always received from the princess and she couldn't help but smile, feeling content and welcomed. Yawning, she only wanted to snuggle deeply into the blankets again to get a little bit more of sleep and to enjoy the rare feeling of satisfaction…

"So, you still like Pink, Filia-san?"

If someone would ask her, Filia would insist on her opinion that there had been no cell in her body that didn't jerk in that special moment. Sitting up, she backed away against the headboard slightly as soon as she got her suspicion of who dared to disturb her this morning confirmed.

"Namagomi! What are you doing here!" she shouted at him, feeling too shocked by his appearance to revel in panic again. Xelloss was sitting calmly on one of the comfortable looking chairs that stood in the near of a small round table. He was holding her pink dress in his hands, stretching his arms out to be able to eye it fully. At her comment, he turned his gaze towards the terrified dragon, keeping his eyes closed to her relief – for now. The Mazoku raised one brow, then made a "tsk"-sound as if he was scolding her; to say the least, it was irritating.

"Already that rude in the morning, Filia-san? To answer a question with another question is incredibly inappropriate."

She was tempted to say that she didn't give a damn if she behaved appropriately in his company, but resisted it, choosing to be silent instead. And as she noticed, Xelloss didn't really care if she participated in the conversation or not. Giving the dress one last glance, he folded it neatly and laid it back onto the table.

"To be honest, I've to admit that Pink suits you well; but don't you think the dress is a little bit out of mode?" His smile widened only slightly as her brow twitched.

_Breathe, Filia… just breathe… in… out… in…_

While she was trying hard to contain her self-control, Xelloss stood up, pushed the chair into his previous position and leaned elegantly against the table. A little bit too elegant, for her opinion. _Who does he want to deceive with such behaviour?_, she thought, getting angrier with every second that passed with him being in the same room. Although his words hit a sensitive spot in her, he kept his tone polite. They could've stood on a full market place, talking and being heard by everybody around them, and still people would wonder why she was seriously trying to kill him; nobody except her would get his meanings. Some people would think of this as ironic, but she felt like it was the worst thing that could've ever happened to her.

"But…" Xelloss continued, while watching her intently, "White certainly does suit you as well."

For a moment, she didn't get what he meant. Then she realized that she wasn't wearing her usual dress.

_Because it is lying on the table…_, Filia added dryly to herself, _Excellent observation, Filia… _

Looking down onto her clothing, she found herself wearing a simple white nightgown, which barely reached her knee. Only small strips held it to her shoulders, ending in a round décolleté. As much as she liked the feeling of the silk against her skin, she felt terribly uncomfortable in it now. She felt Xelloss' gaze travel from her now flushing face down to her décolleté, over her waist line down to where the gown ended just above her knee, then back up again where his gaze seemed to grow very fond of her cleavage again.

Filia trembled under his gaze, then gripped the blanket tightly and pulled it up quickly until it covered her whole body up to her chin, too embarrassed to even scream.

Xelloss smile turned into a disastrous smirk, as he approached her, then sitting down at the bedside.

"Why so shy, Fi-chan?" he asked softly, reaching out, cupping her chin with one hand and tilting it towards him. His voice was smooth as he spoke her name, and she couldn't help but react to it, even though the affectionate undertone of a lover was missing.

_He is a Mazoku, after all…_, a voice in her mind scoffed, shaking its head, but it went unnoticed. She was too entranced by his now open eyes, panic mixed with adrenaline rushing through her veins. Cat-like pupils in pools of liquid amethyst, reaching too deeply into her mind and soul, pulling, searching and remembering her too much of everything she'd shared with him… and had yet to share.

"You know, there's nothing I haven't seen before." he continued and an expression that she couldn't quite put her finger on flickered through his eyes.

_Oh, he couldn't just shut up, could he!_

She growled, catching up with reality again. "Go away."

He simply chuckled. "That certainly is the dragon I know!"

In the next moment, he was on top of her, holding both her wrists beside her head in his hands. Filia opened her mouth to shout at him, her surprise loosening her tongue and tearing away any kind of reserve she possessed, but quickly used it to gasp for air as his hot breath came into contact with one of her sensitive earlobes. All reason went to hell as he took it gently between his teeth and lapped his tongue against her flesh.

"But don't forget, Fi-chan, that this is the position I like to have you in."

And with that he was gone, leaving a panting dragoness behind.

* * *

It certainly felt wrong that one small action of him could ruin her day that easily. But it did. Filia felt like a nervous wrack and she decided with much resignation to send herself to a mental hospital as soon as she'd be able to speak again. 

She'd taken breakfast with the others, not because of their company, but because she thought that something to eat would maybe help her body to keep her hands from shaking. Before she went down, she had unwrapped the blanket from Valgaav's egg, using it as a soft and comfortable cushion, and had laid the egg on a chair that she had pushed in front of one of the high windows, so that the morning's sun warmed it. Finding the dining room the princess has decided to take the breakfast in was easy; the sounds Lina and Gourry were always making while eating – screams along with a few dull reverberating punches – helped her much in locating them.

She had to admit that Seyruun's palace was – to be honest – impressing to no end. Light walls and crème-coloured carpets, plants and flowers everywhere and from time to time some paintings of the current royal family and their ancestors. She found a modest painting of Amelia, another one showed a tall and bully man with a bushy moustache, grinning triumphantly at the viewer and giving him the "victory"-sign; and there was a painting of a woman, who showed much resemblance to Amelia with her dark raven hair and her delicate face. The other ones she found were older with slightly bleached out colours, the people portrayed wearing older traditional clothing.

Although Filia liked the way that the palace was furnished, she couldn't imagine living in such a building. Countless hallways lead through it, ending here and then, doors framing them to each side. She met no one on her way to the dining room and it just seemed cold to her.

What she wanted to live in was a small house, not in such a big city as Seyruun, but in the near of it or in a clear village somewhere. _Two-stored and with a fireplace would be nice._ she mused, a smile tugging timidly at her lips.

It wasn't like she hadn't tried to find a home for herself and Val before she came to Seyruun, but it had been a hard and strenuous trip. As a single woman she wasn't gifted with much trust when it came to purchasing a house or a flat and she had listened to too much malicious insinuations and hints to act with such naivety in this case again. One estate agent had thrown her out after noticing the egg she'd hidden in a basket, having draped a woollen blanket over it; another one had tried to talk her into going out with him rather then to talk her into buying one of his houses and flats. It seemed like every men would suddenly loose any respect for her as soon as they found out that there wasn't a husband at her side who would usually order her to simply sit down and let "the men do the business".

She hadn't searched on her continent for a place to live, but she had her doubts that the situation would differ much from the situation here on the others' continent; and didn't she have enough reasons to want as much distance between her and her elders' temple as possible? The thought of living in the near of them and feeling their presence constantly through the astral plane had disgusted her and so she'd made her choice quickly.

Of course, there was still the question of what to do after finding a place for her, but she'd ignored it. She dreamt of living peacefully, but "living" wasn't an occupation, it was a condition she wanted to keep up as long as it was possible. She was aware of the fact that the presence of various Mazoku was much more threatening on this continent and she didn't even vaguely gloss over the fact that she was too weak to be able to defend herself and Val for long in a fight against one, but she believed deeply in her opinion that a single dragon, living somewhere other than in a temple ruled by the Ryuzoku, would catch their attention.

_At least it would be better for you if no other Mazoku gets interested in you.._, the small voice in her mind had murmured under its breath, _Juushinkan certainly is enough._

And could anyone please tell her where _that_ came from!

After the breakfast, Amelia had wanted to take a walk with Lina and her. She hated to turn the girl down and there seemed nothing wrong about a walk with the two girls – except that Lina still was in a bad mood because Gourry had finished the pancakes before she made it to the dining room; Filia quickly forgot to mention that she didn't get much at all. Amelia led them over the courtyard out to one of Seyruun's main roads that build the pentagram the city was known for, babbling carelessly about the weather. Filia and Lina followed, at least the first waiting patiently for the princess to get to her point.

Lina's patience only needed half a minute to wear thin; she stopped and folded her arms over her chest. "Oh, quit that, 'Melia! What do ya really want to talk to us about!"

Filia lifted one brow uncharacteristically as the princess stopped, too, her shoulders hunched and obviously deep in thought for one moment, but said moment didn't last long. Straightening her shoulders, Amelia turned around, rubbing her index fingers against each other sheepishly.

"Well… I promised you a party, didn't I?"

"Yeah. And a buffet and lots of presents.", Lina counted on her fingers.

"Right…", Amelia murmured, "And I thought that a ball would be appropriate. I mean, it's your 18th birthday, your entrance into womanhood, into your life as an adult with a family and children –"

"I. Don't. Dance."

"But Lina-san! Imagine how much fun it would be!" Having lost the creepy fairytale-glimmer in her eyes for a moment, it was now back again and Amelia was obviously very determined to get Lina to resign herself to a wonderful ball for her birthday.

"Not a little." the petite sorceress scoffed, her eyes narrowing. "So, now that that's decided, if you'd excuse me! There's lunch waiting for me…"

"Lina-san…" the princess whined, staring teary-eyed at the sorceress that was now turning her back to her. Filia could see how Amelia's gaze literally bored into it. "Think about the advantages…"

"That would be..?"

"You could go with Gourry-san to the ball … I mean with him as…" Amelia's brows furrowed as she searched for a term that wouldn't upset her friend. "…as your partner?" In the end, it sounded more like a question than a statement.

Lina opened her mouth, her eyes widening. "Whoa! What do ya mean by that!"

"I… already asked him…?" A question again.

Filia had to swallow nervously as a dark foreboding crossed her mind. _This will end so bad…_

The scream that Lina let loose in the next moment was heard by everyone in Seyruun itself and in its surroundings – that was for sure. The sorceress' face had taken on a crimson colour that didn't differ much from her eyes' colour, and she looked ready to strangle Seyruun's loved-by-everyone princess to death.

"You… you did WHAT!" she breathed, huffing, the position her hands took reminding Filia unfortunately of the incantation of a fireball. _Small, but hot enough to burn your skin thoroughly…_ She stepped back quickly.

"It isn't that bad, Lina-san!" Amelia quickly added, holding her hands up defensively in front of her. "You wouldn't be the only one! Zelgadiss-san's coming, too, and Filia-san –"

… _will be gone from here as soon as a chance appears._ Filia thought contently, nodding to herself.

"- could go to the ball with Xelloss-san!"

"WHAT!" Filia bridged the distance between Amelia and herself in a movement that certainly couldn't be seen by common people, grabbing the princess by her collar and shaking her in a not so characteristically way. Lina had somehow managed to keep her temper in check - maybe because another person was now hard at the border of getting seriously violent – and sighed. "Put back those teeth, Filia. She'll get her punishment soon enough." Filia blushed, embarrassed, and released Amelia as quickly as she had grasped her. "Sorry…" she murmured, a bitter feeling twisting her stomach. She had never intended to hurt the princess – at least not seriously - , but she also didn't want to attend the ball. Especially after the last few days she didn't feel like making conversations, dancing and having to hide her emotions once more. Before she'd ruin Amelia's plans in this case and Lina's birthday in particular, she'd rather lay awake in the nights which still remained between her and this date to come up with a good and plausible excuse.

Lina however was now grinning widely at the innocently blinking princess. "So, Zel's coming, eh?"

Amelia's face went red. "It has nothing to do with Zelgadiss-san, of course!"

"Oh, come on, 'Melia-chan…", the sorceress purred, poking her softly with her elbow, "We all know your little crush on Rocky. And I guess that as soon as you heard that he's coming, this little idea popped right into your small. Naughty. Brain, ne?" Lina laughed cordially as Amelia flushed more, pouting just a little and suddenly very interested into the street's condition, and ruffled her small friend's hair. "You're planning to use your womanly charm against our innocent chimera, huh? Isn't that unjust?" Lina quipped ruthlessly.

Amelia stuttered: "It… it isn't that bad to help someone notice the advantages of love, is it?"

Filia suddenly felt pity for the small girl, suppressing a sigh that dared to escape her lips. Running after a man for years had to be strenuous and heart-breaking. If said man happened to be Zelgadiss, with all his complexes and fears, it was something a sensible person would give up on right away.

"Well… not at all. And if you're planning to play a little matchmaker in her case as well…" the sorceress leant over to Amelia, whispering into her ear and looking quite conspicuously at the only dragon present, "… then ya can be sure that ya'll have my support, 'kay?" She chuckled and even Amelia's face adorned a pleased smile now.

She forgot that dragons could hear much better than humans.

"What do you mean by that, Lina-san?" Filia's voice was way too calm to trick someone who knew her into thinking that everything was fine and okay; her twitching brow certainly gave away that fact.

Lina straightened her back, shot her an unmistakable glance and rolled her eyes.

"As I said before…" she pointed out, in a scolding tone that small children were used to listen to, "… come ON! Your oh-so-unsubtle flirting with Xelloss gets on my nerves! Get it done finally! It isn't such a long way to his bed, is it?" Lina's grin was sadistic.

"Lina-san! Don't be so loud! The people are looking already!"

Filia let out a strangled sound that sounded like a protest. Then fainted.

This had to be a joke.

She would _so_ be gone before the two girls would have a chance in getting her together with that Namagomi.

_**

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End, Chapter Two **_**

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AN: Click the button! **


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